Dependable
by gladysnotw
Summary: Jason Gideon feels as if his list of trustworthy people is shrinking. But, one woman just might change that.
1. Chapter 1

Gideon wasn't even sure he was real when he first saw him. He was in his apartment alone, blasting Frank Sinatra, and eating alone as well. Or, rather, as usual. He spotted the dark hair from the dining table and narrowed his eyes.

Grabbing his handgun from its secret spot in a bookshelf, he stepped towards the front door. When he heard a knock, he took a deep breath before opening it. He only opened it halfway as he hid the gun behind his back.

The dark haired figure was holding a box and dressed in an Amazon uniform. Gideon felt his shoulders loosen in tension when he realized that the 'he' was a 'she'. The woman smiled and held out the box.

"Hey, delivery for Jason...Gideon," she said as she checked the address sticker on the box.

Gideon put the gun in his back pocket and took the package. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Mr. Gideon. It's nice to meet you. Have a good day," she replied, turning and walking away.

_Hispanic. Black hair. Brown eyes. Late 20's. Oldest 31, youngest...maybe 25._

Gideon closed the door and placed the box on the dining table. Carefully, he opened it and grimaced when he noticed several books on the inside. Several copies of the same book. The title said "Always watching". Gideon jumped towards the front door and threw it open.

He rushed towards the Amazon employee from behind and tackled her down. She screamed as he pinned her down.

"Who are you? What are all the books for?" Gideon yelled.

"Please! Get off me!"

Bystanders watching were staring in shock. Gideon pulled her up to her feet and held her arms behind her back.

"Who the hell is watching me?"

"I don't know," the woman cried.

Hotchner glanced up when he saw J.J. walk in with a distressed look on her face. "Hotch, we got a call from the police about a woman attacked by an FBI agent."

He raised an eyebrow, concerned. "What? Who? One of ours?"

"It's Gideon."


	2. Chapter 2

J.J. tapped her fingers as she watched the woman sitting with a large coat over her shoulders. From one of the officers, no doubt. Hispanic and one of the oldest Amazon employees she's ever seen. She turned when she noticed Reid standing behind her.

"What're you thinking?"

Reid formed his mouth into a thin line, like he always did. "Kind of odd for a woman that age to work as a delivery Amazon employee. She's not old, but women this age tend to have...different kinds of jobs."

"I know what you mean."

"And, what apartment has deliveries made to your door?"

J.J. grimaced and glanced up at him. "I don't think that's too uncommon. The small mailboxes they give you aren't big enough for packages, so maybe that's why she delivered it in person?"

They watched the woman fiddle with the coat and sighed.

"You seen Hotchner?" Reid asked.

"He's supposed to question her in a second. Gideon's upstairs, since she didn't want-"

J.J. nearly jumped from her chair as she turned in a whip. "Gideon is _here_."

"Yeah, no one's really suposed to know that. I figured it out. They weren't that subtle about it," Reid grinned.

She giggled a bit, and shook her head. "You're too smart for your own good. But...she didn't press charges?"

"Guess not. Kinda weird."

Hotchner approached the woman and Reid could tell he asked her to go to a private room. Reid decided to follow with his hands in his pockets. Hotchner opened the door for the woman and Reid. She quietly took her seat as Reid stared at her and the coat.

"Darcy Cruz?" Hotchner asked as he opened a file on the desk.

The woman looked up and nodded.

He took out a photo of Gideon and showed it to her. "This man, who attacked you earlier-"

"Jason Gideon, I know. I mean, the people who run the apartments were excited that he was living there. They said delivering the box in person was...well, they treated it sort of like a bet. They didn't think I'd have the guts to deliver it to him. FBI agent, they said."

"Retired, more like," Hotchner cut in.

"Oh, well, yeah."

"Can you tell us what else happened?" Reid asked.

Darcy lowered her eyes to think. "I gave him the box, and he seemed okay. He went inside and I just walked away. Next thing I know, I heard his footsteps and he tackled me down."

Reid squinted and noticed bruises on her arms. Darcy gripped the coat as Hotchner nodded.

"All of us would like to apologize for the incident. And, if it's alright, Agent Gideon would like to apologize as well."

Darcy took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."


	3. Chapter 3

"I'd like to apologize for, uh, my behavior earlier. The way I acted was malicious."

Darcy hardly looked at Giden, Hotchner noticed. He kept repeating her profile to himself in his mind.

_Hispanic. Late 20's. Lives alone. Not much experience with men her age._

"Gideon will be receiving therapy for a few weeks," Hotchner explained.

Darcy looked confused. "Why are you telling me this?"

"We just want to assure you that he's being given treatment since you decided not to press charges," Reid spoke up.

She gave a shrug and nodded. After a few minutes, they all shook hands, except Darcy and Gideon. Gideon glanced at Hotchner and spoke to him quietly. Reid overheard and raised his eyebrows. Hotchner responded back in a whisper. Gideon and Reid left the room for a moment.

Hotchner sat in front of Darcy and said, "He requested that he speak with you. I'll be here, of course."

"But, why?"

"He seems to have an attachment to you. Gideon was the head of this department a while back. He left to leave this world behind him. I think he's...snapped."

"That's why the therapy," Darcy nodded.

He looked so serious, Darcy noticed. Hotchner cleared his throat as he dismissed himself. He opened the door as Gideon came back inside the room. He sat down where Hotchner was just sitting and folded his hands on the table. Darcy noticed Hotchner do nothing but stare at Gideon. He had a very dark stare. She couldn't quite put a lid on it, but his eyes looked solid black.

"Hey. I know it's probably pushing boundaries, but...I hope you're not badly hurt," Gideon said to Darcy.

Darcy mustered courage to look him in the eye. "No, how's that pushing boundaries?"

Hotchner bit his lip. Gideon turned to look at him, grimacing. "You didn't-"

"Gideon," Hotchner said strictly, "I can't allow this. You wanted to talk to her and I granted that. Nothing more. You know how this works."

"What?" Darcy asked.

Gideon seemed to light up. "I just-"

"Gideon, enough, I think your time's up," Hotchner demanded.

"Wait, I want to know what he's saying," Darcy cut in.

Hotchner gave her a stern look, which she didn't think was possible considering he had that look plastered at all times.

"I'd like to see you again sometime," Gideon admitted.

Darcy felt her stomach clench as she saw Hotchner sigh and close his eyes. She shook her head at him and said, "No, no, I'm fine. It's fine."

Hotchner opened the door and let Reid back into the room. "Dr. Reid will see you out, Miss Cruz."

Reid watched her hesitate, but she stood from her chair with the coat still over her shoulders. He gave her a small smile as he led her out. The door closed as he led her through the building. They reached an elevator, she stepped in, and Reid stood outside.

"Thanks for everything," Darcy mumbled.

Reid side-smiled. "No problem."

The elevator closed and Reid kept the smiling on his face.

"What's with the smile?"

Penelope Garcia appeared, dressed in bright colors, as usual. Reid saluted her with a nod. "Gideon's here."

Her jaw fell open and she gasped. "What?"

Garcia was about to land him with a truckload of questions when Hotchner and J.J. approached them. Hotchner rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"I'm sure, thanks to Reid, you've all heard about Gideon," Hotchner said, quietly.

Reid looked away, making J.J. smile. Garcia kept her eyes on Hotchner. "So he _is _back?"

"Voices down, if you don't mind," Hotchner frowned.

They all looked around as Hotchner continued. "He'll be receiving therapy. He doesn't seem...normal."

"Meaning..?" J.J. asked.

"When he left here, he wanted to know what hope there was left in the world," Reid explained, lowering his voice, "I think the job wore him down."

They all stared at him, Garcia uneasy with excitement. "But he's back now."

"Not to work," Hotchner assured,

The group shifted from excitement to disappointment. J.J. put a comforting hand on Garcia's shoulder. Reid rubbed his nose before asking, "Can we talk to him?"

Hotchner shook his head. "I don't think he's in a fit state to receive you all at once."

"Hotch, we're his friends," Garcia said in a high voice.

"I know. But, he needs a lot of help before we can parade him with a 'welcome back' party," Hotchner advised, gently.

He left the group quietly to check on Gideon again. Garcia adjusted her glasses as J.J. glanced at Reid, who was smiling. She grimaced, confused.

"What is it?"

Hotch entered the room with Gideon and asked, "You alright?"

Gideon didn't move. Hotchner sat across from him, not believing that his old friend was sitting in this building again. Gideon's eyes looked down at the table.

"Something wrong?" Hotchner asked.

J.J. repeated again, "What is it, Reid?"

"Gideon?" Hotchner asked.

"My coat," Gideon replied.


	4. Chapter 4

Hotch stood with his arms folded, shaking his head. Reid joined him in the room with Gideon. Biting his lip, Reid wasn't sure what to say. It had been a long time since he had seen his old chess buddy. He adjusted his satchel strap on his shoulder, and cleared his throat.

Gideon's eyes didn't budge from the table. Reid glanced at Hotchner as he spoke up. "Reid, we need some space here, so could you.."

"I thought he might-"

Hotch raised an eyebrow and Reid got the message. He formed his lips into a thin line, and left the room.

"Jason...can we speak in my office?"

Both men left the room and did their best to ignore the stares as they walked to Hotch's office. The door shut and Hotch offered Jason a seat in front of his desk. "Please."

With a small exhale, Jason sat down and folded his hands on his lap.

"Jason, you and I both know that she didn't take your coat by coincidence. Your behavior today is very concerning-"

"Don't talk down to me, Aaron. I just let the woman borrow my coat."

"With every intention of seeing her again just to get it back," Hotch replied, sighing through his nose.

The two men hadn't seen each other in a couple of years, and it pained Aaron Hotchner to be meeting under these circumstances. However, Gideon didn't seem to have anything on his mind except the woman.

"I need to get going," Gideon said, standing up.

"Do I need to have you followed, Gideon?" Hotchner asked as he, too, got up.

They stopped at the door as Gideon turned to face him, sternly. "Follow me. I don't care."

He walked out of the room while Aaron stared at him, losing patience. He frowned as he watched Gideon walk across the building, towards the elevator. Clicking heels approached his office as Penelope Garcia hurried to speak with him.

"Sir, I heard that-"

"Now now, Garcia," Hotch cut in, still staring at Gideon from afar.

Garcia followed his gaze and felt herself holding back tears. Hotch sighed again and put his hand on his doorknob. "Get Reid to follow him home."

"Sir, is that really-"

Hotch gave her a stern look, but spoke gently. "Garcia, he needs Reid. He's not in trouble, just get Reid over there to talk to him. That is all. And keep this between us, understood?"

Garcia stood with her mouth hanging open. "Y-Yes, sir. Right away."

She carefully made her to Spencer's desk and tapped his shoulder. Reid turned in his chair and raised his eyebrows, questioningly. "Garcia?"

"Hotch told me to tell you to follow Gideon. He said he would talk to _you_."

Reid could hardly hold back a smile. He grabbed his satchel and coat. Garcia tried to smile back as she followed him to the elevator. "This is between us, okay? Hotch's orders."

He gave a small nod. "Got it. I'll be back."

She nodded back and asked, "Call me when you finish?"

The elevator doors opened and he stepped inside, smiling. "Sure will."


	5. Chapter 5

Gideon didn't drive home. Not to Reid's surprise, of course. He knew exactly where he was going. He drove slowly behind Gideon's car, and watched him arrive at his destination. Putting the car in park, Gideon approached the small house. Reid remained in his car and watched his friend knock on the door. The house looked comfy and filled with flowers on the lawn. Lowering the driver's side window, Reid squinted as he saw the door slowly opened.

Darcy had to admit, she didn't expect Gideon to arrive so fast. She already had his coat in her hands. Slowly, she gave him a small greeting and gave him his coat back.

"Can I get a chance to talk with you...without an interrogation room?" Gideon asked, calmly.

She stared at him, and opened her door a little more. "Sure."

Reid watched him go inside and decided to give them a moment before going in himself. He remembered all their cases together, and the countless advice Gideon gave him throughout their time in the BAU. He smiled to himself and leaned his chair back.\

Darcy poured Gideon a cup of tea, and sat down across from him at the dining table. The house was small, and filled with paintings Darcy must've made herself. Many canvases were small and clearly from the dollar store, judging by their texture and quality, he noticed.

"Gideon," she said, quietly.

He raised his eyebrows. "Sorry?"

"Gideon. That's your name, right? There's a character in the Bible named Gideon," Darcy replied as she sipped her tea.

He side-smiled. "Last name. My name's Jason."

Darcy stared at him, and put her cup down on the table. "So, are you...you were FBI, right? Did you get ill from your work? I mean, if it's not too personal to ask."

"No, not personal at all. I left the BAU to get some relief. It's not easy to explain."

She noticed how thick her eyebrows were and she smiled, humored by it. She sipped her tea to hide her smile, and said, "I'm more than willing to hear your story."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment. Gideon gulped some tea, and set it down. "A friend of mine got involved in a case, and it ended...pretty badly. I couldn't work on anymore cases without thinking about her."

He continued. "I took this job to bring closure to families, catch the animals that bring pain on them. You see the desperation in their eyes...the pain, and you work hard to change that pain. Turn it into relief. Happiness."

"But?"

He stared at the table. "But, you catch one, and there's already another one doing something worse. It's like playing whack-a-mole. You hit one, and another comes up. Always will."

"No matter what you do, it always feels like it's not enough," Darcy understood.

He gave a small shrug. "Yeah. Hearing people getting murdered, raped, or tortured gets to you. And, it's not just adults. These sick bastards go after kids, too. As if it wasn't already bad enough."

"I can imagine," Darcy mumbled.

"No, you can't," Gideon said as he covered his face with his hands.

Sarah. Sarah was on his mind. Her gentle smile and small body. Bloody and destroyed.

He let out a small sob, making Darcy stare at him, slightly unsure of what to do. She didn't expect him to cry. Her eyes lowered as she tried not to stare. He put a hand down on the table, and covered his eyes with his other hands. His mouth held back any sound as he felt his eyes burn with tears. Darcy slowly reached out and touched his hand.

"Sorry.." he managed to say.

She shook her head. "No. It's fine."

She got up and made her way to his side of the table. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she told him to let go. He started crying a bit, but not as hard as she expected. Silent tears. She patted his back. He wiped his eyes quickly, and got up from his chair.

"I gotta go," he said as he grabbed his coat.

"Gideon-"

"Please. It's not your fault," he said as he stopped at the front door.

She followed him to the door and opened it for him. "If you need anything..."

"I'm in love with you," Gideon confessed, suddenly.

He looked desperate. She froze and felt slightly uncomfortable. Trying to maintain her composure, she cleared her throat. "Gideon...I, this isn't the time for."

He held her hand. "Please."

She met his eyes, and could tell he didn't mean it in a hasty way. But it didn't feel right for obvious reasons.

"Gideon."

They both turned at the new voice. Spencer Reid stood at the end of her driveway with his hands in his pockets. "I think we should get some air."

Gideon still held Darcy's hand. Reid approached him as calmly as possible. He reached out and pulled their hands apart. "Gideon, we need to go."

Slowly, Gideon gave in and followed Reid to his car across the street. Darcy stared at them as Reid gave her a reassuring smile. He held up his hand and made the "call" sign with his hand, mouthing, "He'll call you."

Darcy wasn't sure whether to nod or shrug. She just held up her hand, saying goodbye. The two men got in the car and Reid drove away, exhaling deeply. Gideon stared at Reid, without having his seatbelt on.

"I wasn't going to do anything," Gideon said, quietly.

"I know, but you need to maintain some boundaries. You just tackled her a few hours ago, and now you're holding her hand. You're giving off mixed messages, and exposing yourself to-"

Gideon frowned at the boy. "Don't profile me."

"You know me better than to do that. I'm trying to help," Reid replied, stressed.

"What's wrong with holding her hand?"

"You're not in your right mind, and you made her uncomfortable," Reid replied, as he drove to Gideon's apartment.

Gideon stared out the window and saw Sarah standing on the sidewalk. She wasn't smiling. Her eyes held disappointed. He felt sick, and looked away. Reid noticed his movements, and kept driving.

"If you need to talk to someone, you have me. You shouldn't let out all your feelings to a stranger."

"She isn't a stranger, you hear me?" Gideon asked, growing angry.

Reid grimaced at that, and shook his head. "She's not Sarah, Gideon."

"I never said-"

"You didn't have to."

The two remained quiet until they reached Gideon's apartment. Spencer insisted on spending the night with him, and Gideon ultimately agreed. As he made his way inside, Spencer remained outside, and took out his phone. He dialed Garcia's number and called her.

_"What took so long? I'm worried and restless!"_

He smiled at her concern. "Things got complicated."

_"I don't like the sound of that. Explain."_

Reid glanced at the apartment and sighed. "I think Gideon's sick."


End file.
